For Adventurous Eaters

By

Anne Kadet

Jan. 4, 2013 8:29 p.m. ET

The other evening, a handsome man with a gap-tooth smile rang my bell with a delivery. "Happy New Year," he said, and handed me two brown bags. They were neatly hand-labeled: "Meatloaf and potatoes gratin." I asked where the food came from, but the man shook his head. "We're not supposed to say," he murmured. Then, like a dark knight, he vanished into the streets to deliver more meals.

Why have more than 1,000 New Yorkers signed on with Mealku, a co-op food service that has them swapping...